I have mentioned before the energetic and profound e-mailed writings of John Mauldin.

Look at this from a piece he recently ran by Michael E Lewitt – a wonderful definition of capital and by implication capitalism:

Capital is not a thing or a category; capital is a living, breathing phenomenon. Capital is an expression of the human relationships that generate economic value.

Just as these relationships are dynamic, so is capital. The most important attribute of capital as it functions in the real world is that it is a relationship; as such it has the capacity to change form. This is often described as its liquidity function.

Capital is also a human construct; it is not something found in nature or subject to scientific laws, despite the misguided attempts of today’s rocket scientists to claim that it possesses such qualities.

Most importantly, capital is unstable. If capital were better understood for what it is, it could be better managed and regulated…

Something for the UK’s new Con-Lib government to think about.